Historic SitePembrokeshireCadw4.6
Free entry for everyone; no membership card is needed.
No charge for anyone.
Cadw names the car park alongside Castle Lane off the A4075. The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, which runs the castle and its car park, says there is ample free parking for cars and coaches in the main castle car park with three disabled bays, and Carew is not among the park authority's charging car parks, so the status is recorded as free. Turn right just after the Carew Inn; the cross is at the corner of the car park where it meets the main road. Cadw lists no toilets at the cross; the park authority's walk sheet shows public toilets across the road from the car park.
Driving pin: Cadw's own what3words point on the cross itself, 6 m from its marker and 9 m from the car park; the castle's own entrance point is 60 m south. The castle and tidal mill are not Cadw properties and admission to them is not included with Cadw membership. By road: Carew, off the A477, 4 miles north-east of Pembroke. By rail: Lamphey, 6.4 km; Pembroke Dock 5.6 miles. The fflecsi bus serves Carew Monday to Saturday; National Cycle Network route 4 passes 3.6 km away.
Carew Cross, Croes Caeriw, is an exceptional 11th-century Celtic high cross standing 13 feet tall beside the A4075 at the entrance to Carew Castle's car park, and one of the three finest in Wales. A Latin inscription on the base reads The Cross of Margiteut son of Etguin, a memorial to Maredudd ap Edwin, a descendant of the law-maker Hywel Dda who ruled Deheubarth and died in battle in 1035. The wheel-headed cross is assembled from two stones, Carmarthenshire sandstone and volcanic rock from the Preseli hills, and is carved all over with knots and plaits in a mixture of Welsh, Irish and Viking motifs, leaving one panel blank; it has been called a milestone in Welsh art and inspired Cadw's own logo. It stands so close to the road that one face is best seen from across the street by the Carew Inn. The castle and tidal mill next door are run by the national park and charge separately.
Please note: Carew Castle and Tidal Mill is not a Cadw property and admission to the castle and mill is not included with Cadw membership.
Open all year during reasonable daylight hours; no admission charge. Cadw's standing notice: Carew Castle and Tidal Mill is not a Cadw property and admission to the castle and mill is not included with Cadw membership. Cadw may close monuments at short notice in extreme weather.
Terrain level 1, accessible: the cross stands on a plinth at the roadside by the car park entrance. No toilets at the cross. Drones are not permitted.
Dogs: Cadw: 'Dogs on short leads welcome to access ground floor levels of the site.' A roadside monument with no upper levels; the site is not on Cadw's dog-friendly list. The park authority's Carew Castle site is dog friendly with well-behaved dogs welcome everywhere on a short lead; its Carew web walk asks for dogs under close control among fields and livestock.
Photo: The carved wheel-headed Carew Cross on its cobbled plinth between stone gateposts, with the Carew Inn behind under a blue sky. Michael Garlick, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carew_Cross_-_geograph.org.uk_-_6878649.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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Dogs, with restrictions
1 mile (1.6 km) easy-access circuit on level surfaced paths from the free Carew Castle car park, past the castle and tidal mill, across the causeway, along the north side of the millpond and back over the road bridge; the walk passes the carved cross; the paths are open and free all year although the castle charges. Free.
Dogs, with restrictions
Full circuit 3.3 miles (5.3 km), about 1 hour 45 minutes, or the Carew Newton loop (1.6 miles) and Milton loop (1.7 miles); level, through fields with livestock, stone stiles and steps, 800 m of road walking, from the castle; the route describes the cross. Free.
